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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some expat Indians are moving back home to launch companies of their own.</li><li>India's booming market size, internet growth, and post-pandemic spending is driving their decision.</li></ul>Nithin Hassan, 41, has always been fascinated with building something of his own.As a child in India, he would get in trouble for dismantling electronics around the house just so he could peek inside.In college, in true <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-to-bet-your-career-on-in-2024-2024-2">startup</a> fashion, he started working on a small business out of his parent's garage in Bengaluru, assembling computers for friends and family.It was the early 2000s and the internet was not the trove of knowledge it is today — Hassan was relying on books to learn. Finding mentorship and the right guidance was a challenge, too.Everyone around Hassan told him that going to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/resume-tips-google-software-engineer-skills-experience-careers-software-tech-2024-3">US for a master's degree</a> was the next big opportunity. So he did.Over the next 16 years, he put his startup plans on hold and worked at some of the world's biggest companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.<div type="image" title="Nithin Hassan" height="2450" width="3266" msid="113831978" hostid="261" sizebytes="215682"></div>But the pandemic felt like a turning point. And its aftermath made India look like a lab-designed business environment: It had just become the world's most populous country, the pandemic had created <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/private-consumption-continues-to-be-supported-by-pent-up-demand-finance-ministry/articleshow/99069973.cms?from=mdr">pent-up demand</a> for consumer products, and growing internet adoption made commerce more scalable, he said.So Hassan left behind about $500,000 in annual pay at Meta to move back to Bengaluru in December 2023 with his wife and two children. He has since launched two startups.Hassan is part of a group of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-moved-back-to-india-after-living-abroad-for-decade-2024-9">expat Indians moving back</a> home to venture out on their own. As such, he's also part of a decades-long trend of reverse migration back to India.The trend began in the 1990s and picked up at the turn of the century, driven by the economic collapse in 2008, said Binod Khadria, the president of Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism. Many of those who returned to India for work were largely working for multinational companies.Today, the impetus for the move often looks a bit different: It's driven by factors like unstable visa policies and economic recessions, which lead to uncertainty when it comes to jobs and duration of stay in these destinations.Many returnees find work in tech, but the finance, retail, and climate sectors also absorb a large number of expat Indians, Khadia said. And some of the returnees are heading back to India to start companies of their own.India is undergoing a startup explosion. The country reported over<a target="_blank" href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2043805"> 140,800 recognized startups</a> at the end of June — nearly 50,000 more than last year — and credited them with creating 1.6 million direct jobs.To be sure, not all of these companies will make it big — and some do still stumble, like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://inc42.com/features/what-are-the-current-problems-being-faced-by-oyo/">Oyo </a>and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackrock-hsbc-funds-byjus-startup-valuation-zero-edtech-india-raveendran-2024-6">Byju's</a>. But the chaos, where even established startups are trying and failing, makes India a fair playing field for new entrants, Hassan said.Business Insider spoke to six <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-vc-wants-see-5-traits-new-founders-fundraising-antler-2024-8">first-time founders </a>about why they have recently returned to India after spending several years, or even an adult life, abroad.<h2 id="0e4a3c47-ba19-4690-8b52-c6bfece1c81d">Fastest-growing economy</h2>The health of the economy and interest from investors are fueling the entrepreneurship boom.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-billionaire-karan-adani-plans-challenge-china-dominance-seaports-2024-8">India's economic growth</a> in 2023 — 8.2% — was the fastest of all large economies worldwide. That's led to greater purchasing power, which lets companies, including startups, sell more.India's inflation rate of about 3.5% is well below its annual wage growth of 9.6%. This makes inflation less of a challenge than it is for slower-growing peers, where consumer-focused businesses have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/economy-jobs-report-sentiment-consumers-elections-recession-inflation-mortgage-rates-2024-9">hurt by high prices</a>.Investors are getting in on the action.From 2015 to 2021, the number of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sequoia-capital-vc-firm-split-china-india-2023-6">unique investors in India</a> nearly quadrupled, though the number is tracking much lower this year, per PitchBook."Other than a slight downturn in 2022 and 2023 due to global macroeconomic factors, VC funding has been consistently growing in India," said Ben Mathias, a managing partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia &amp; India.Besides funding, domestic developments have encouraged founders and VCs too, Mathias said.The Indian government's Universal Payment Interface system has spurred consumers and businesses to pay online, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bcg.com/press/2june2022-digital-payments-in-india-projected-to-reach-10-trillion-by-2026">40% of all digital payments</a> globally happen in India today, the partner said.Programs like Startup India, which provides founders benefits like tax exemption, easier compliance, and funding support, have made creating a company smoother.Devyani Parameshwar worked in the microfinance and fintech space in India in the 2010s before heading to the UK and Africa. She returned to India in 2022 to launch a financial management venture."It's changed dramatically. I remember standing in line at various ministries in Delhi trying to get meetings and then trying to get answers and it wasn't easy in the past," she said of her memories of India.Now, she can use an online platform to ask the country's central bank and banking regulator questions.It's easier than ever for foreign companies to invest in India, which means startups have a clearer exit path through acquisition — something VCs think hard about before entering new markets or writing checks.<h2 id="e5dd7b6f-a09f-4ff2-84c1-5907de96dc5e">Market ripe for the taking</h2>For Rohan Bhide, who spent most of his college and professional life <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worked-in-big-tech-before-launching-my-own-startup-engineer-2024-9">preparing to launch something of his own</a>, a trip home in 2017 while he was studying in the US was a turning point.Indian telecom giant Reliance had recently launched a cheap unlimited data plan, which spiked Indian internet adoption. India was charting among the countries with the highest online transactions."That really, really drew my attention," said Bhide, who worked at Meta after graduation. "It was my dream come true — a huge market, a huge user base, and at the same time, the ability to adopt technology was incredible."Bhide returned to India in January, leaving behind about $580,000 in total compensation at ticketing platform StubHub. He and a cofounder are working on launching a consumer tech product later this year.<div type="image" title="Rohan Bhide" height="2304" width="3072" msid="113831979" hostid="261" sizebytes="218468"></div>Most Indians grew up wanting to work at a multinational company — but that's changing, Bhide said.Freelancing, running your own business, or working for a startup is much more socially acceptable now, because people see the success of other Indian startups. The country has the third-largest number of "unicorns" — companies worth $1 billion or more — with 64, per PitchBook.<h2 id="7f423804-745b-4e04-a250-839e01663f09">Boom in entrepreneurship culture</h2>A lot has changed since Hassan first wanted to launch his hardware startup in the early 2000s.Tech hot spots like Bengaluru and Gurugram have seen a boom in entrepreneurship culture in the last few years, with meet-ups, networking mixers, and even morning walks with like-minded builders.<div type="image" title="man standing in front of mountains in USA" height="2268" width="3024" msid="113831980" hostid="261" sizebytes="141132"></div>Dhruv Anand, who left Google in the US to move back to India in 2021 to launch an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-startups-most-promising-2024-9">AI startup</a>, said that there were lots of other founders and mentors to help guide him."If you want to figure out who's the right chartered accountant to talk to, who's the right lawyer to help you draft agreements, all of that stuff is very easy," Anand said."It's been a really, really supportive community," Bhide said. There are people "telling you about their entire lives just because they want to help you and they're hoping that you pass the favor onto the next person who moves to India and wants to start their own company."<h2 id="3c8bff36-e855-4530-9b44-bcc7f36b0825">Not everything is perfect</h2>Although these founders made the decision to return to India, that doesn't mean they no longer see the benefits of operating in the US.Ruchit Garg founded an agriculture startup in Silicon Valley in 2016, with a focus on supporting farmers around the globe. In 2019, he returned to India, where his late grandfather worked as a farmer.Garg has been building in India ever since, but he says its startup ecosystem cannot yet compete with the Valley's decades of experience."The overall ecosystem was more mature back in Silicon Valley. It's still one of the best places for entrepreneurs. India isn't there yet, although it's growing pretty drastically," he said.Despite efforts to digitalize key processes, many bureaucratic challenges persist.For most founders, after living in US cities where populations are a fraction of those in Mumbai and Bangalore, congested roads and poorer air quality are also everyday annoyances.But India provides some big perks, including affordable domestic help and the appeal of building solutions for problems they witness firsthand."It's a different joy to be able to build for problems that you feel for very personally," Parameshwar, the fintech founder, said. When she worked in Africa, she needed translators. Now, she can speak with her users herself.Bhide said the general sentiment among local founders is shifting from "Build from India" to "Build for India."For some founders, being surrounded by family and the culture they grew up in was another selling point.Niranjan Vemulkar moved back to India in 2015 and later founded a digital legacy planning platform.He said that he never fully felt at home in the US, where he lived for over a decade."For us, it was the fact that we wanted to raise a family in an environment where the children would have access to the grandparents and Indian culture," Vemulkar said. "The fact that you could come back to India, start something of your own and figure things out in an ecosystem which was potentially booming for startups, was just a cherry on the cake."Are you in India and have a story to share about the tech and entrepreneurship landscape? Please reach out at shubhangigoel@insider.com

Some techies are leaving cushy Silicon Valley jobs to launch startups at home in India

The Goldman prodigy behind Silicon Valley's glorious city of the future

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Paso Robles has become my favorite hidden gem in California.</li><li>The central coast town has small wineries and delicious food.</li></ul>Where should you go in California for delicious food, sprawling vineyards, and the immensely satisfying sound of a freshly uncorked wine bottle? Let me guess, you're thinking of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/castello-di-amorosa-napa-wine-castle-2017-8">Napa</a>.But what if I told you there's a hidden gem on the central coast where you can get all of the above with fewer crowds, cheaper prices, and cooler tasting experiences?Welcome to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/camper-van-trip-california-coast-2021-11">Paso Robles</a>.<h2 id="36165750-92c9-41bd-a940-33e84e79d4b5">A wine for everyone</h2><div type="image" title="JUSTIN Winery in Paso Robles" height="1333" width="2000" msid="115017464" hostid="261" sizebytes="244696"></div>Growing up in the Bay Area, Napa Valley quickly became a special place for my family. With no relatives living in the US, my Greek parents took us there every Christmas to make the holidays feel special.I've visited Napa over 20 times, but over the past few years, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/camper-van-trip-california-surprises-van-life-2021-11">Paso Robles</a> has stolen my heart.Paso Robles is almost exactly in the middle of Los Angeles and San Francisco, about 200 miles each way. Parallel to the mountains and the sea, the region has a unique terroir due to big temperature swings. The topography's distinctive microclimates are perfect for growing a variety of grapes, helping Paso distinguish itself in a crowded California wine market."The diversity of this area really separates itself from the monoculture that Napa has become," Andrew Jones, the owner of Field Recordings Winery, told me.Adding to that diversity is the low barrier to entry in the Paso Robles wine industry. Most of the wineries are small and family-owned, and the winemakers are often on-site to guide you. This refreshingly laid-back approach makes tastings feel intimate and approachable."Napa has a taller order; they have to live up to a brand that's worldwide," Neeta Mittal, one of the first Indian women to open a winery in the US, said. "Where we thrive in Paso is we're able to etch our own identity, and that's a great nimbleness that we're allowed."<h2 id="0ce7c576-57f2-4f53-8a01-a808c811fb12">Not your typical tasting experiences</h2><div type="image" title="Paso Robles LXV Wines" height="1500" width="2000" msid="115017465" hostid="261" sizebytes="254432"></div>Mittal and her husband Kunal own <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lxvwine.com/">LXV Wine</a>, which offers the only wine-and-spice pairing in the US. I visited LXV during my first trip to Paso Robles and was delighted that my tasting came with cheeses covered in various spices. I learned how ginger and black truffle salt can bring out the flavors of a Cabernet and why Szechuan peppers and Nebbiolo make a great team.I've also had some great tastings at <a target="_blank" href="https://fieldrecordingswine.com/">Field Recordings</a>, which prides itself on making wines that "are all about the flavor — with none of the pretension," as its website reads. Jones specializes in small-batch, single-vineyard wines. They're fun and funky, decorated with colorful labels and names like "Kitties" or "Super Gnario." I'm partial to the bubbles tasting and always take home a bottle of Skins, an orange wine.<div type="image" title="Paso Robles Tin City" height="1200" width="1912" msid="115017462" hostid="261" sizebytes="411760"></div>Field Recordings is in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tincitypasorobles.com/">Tin City</a>, my favorite part of Paso Robles. The converted industrial hub features 27 wineries, where tastings typically cost between $20 and $30 and are within walking distance of each other. It's perfect for a wine crawl, but there's also a brewery, hard cider, and the very fun <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tincitydistillery.com/">Tin City Distillery</a> if you're craving cocktails.It's a far more accessible price point than Napa, where the high cost of winemaking has trickled down to tourists.Before a recent trip in August, one of my friends was tasked with finding us a morning tasting. Almost every price they sent to the group chat ranged from $80 to $100 a person. This echoes findings in Silicon Valley Bank's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.svb.com/globalassets/library/uploadedfiles/wine/svb-2024-direct-to-consumer-wine-survey-report.pdf">2024 Direct to Consumer Wine Report</a>, which found that the average tasting fee in Napa is $75, while the average in Paso Robles is $30.<h2 id="27aad291-2c1f-48ce-ac7f-34f1a289cc47">Where you can wine and dine</h2>Another reason I keep going back to Paso Robles is the fantastic restaurant scene. I never skip a dinner at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.alchemistsgarden.com/">The Alchemists' Garden</a>, which has a wildly fun cocktail list and some of the best french fries I've ever tasted.My parents still rave about the meal we had at <a target="_blank" href="https://ilcortileristorante.com/">Il Cortile Ristorante</a>. Its pappardelle is handmade and paired with a rich and luscious Bolognese, and the branzino fish is light, bright, and cooked to perfection. But the star is the risotto covered in white truffles, a holiday splurge I've never forgotten.<div type="image" title="Paso Robles Alchemist Kitchen food" height="1280" width="960" msid="115017459" hostid="261" sizebytes="152164"></div>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.justinwine.com/dine">Restaurant at Justin</a>, which earned its first Michelin star in 2022, bested any fine-dining experience I've had in Napa. I still have pictures saved from that dinner, where my boyfriend and I feasted on maple-leaf duck breast, prime filet, and various veggies picked from their 26-acre farmstead.And no visit to Paso is complete without a stop at <a target="_blank" href="https://brownbuttercookies.com/">Brown Butter Cookie Company</a>, which has mastered the combo of salty and sweet in a little treat. The hand-rolled cookies are made locally and available in a variety of flavors (I'm partial to the original). On my last visit, I grabbed a dozen bags for my family, friends, and myself, of course.<h2 id="c6c10d0b-d96e-46ee-8a93-989a7a44ae74">A vacation for any season</h2><div type="image" title="Anneta in Paso Robles" height="1129" width="1505" msid="115017463" hostid="261" sizebytes="187290"></div>Blessed with California sunshine, Paso Robles is a great vacation year-round. I've gone in the fall, summer, and winter — where it's festively decorated for the holidays — and have always been charmed by the small-town vibes and friendly locals. (Don't miss karaoke nights at the Pine Street Saloon.)No matter the season, I've found it easy to find Airbnbs that are a 5-10 minute walk from Paso Robles' bustling downtown. There's also a range of affordable hotel options.The wine-making world is slowly starting to learn about Paso Robles, but the town itself remains a hidden gem. On my most recent trip in September, the streets were quiet, and the reservations were aplenty. The wine and food, though, remained as fantastic as ever.For now, at least, this is California's best-kept secret.

I skip Napa Valley and head to Paso Robles instead. It's California's best-kept secret for wine lovers.

As the collapse of <keyword id="630197" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="silicon-valley-bank" source="Orion">Silicon Valley Bank</keyword> (<keyword id="675965" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="svb" source="Orion">SVB</keyword>) in the US left the Indian startup ecosystem worried, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, <keyword id="205969" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rajeev-chandrasekhar" source="Orion">Rajeev Chandrasekhar</keyword>, on Sunday said he will hold a meeting with the startup Founders and CEOs next week to see how the government can help them during the crisis. The bank's collapse is going to impact several startups in India which have exposure to its investments and have parked their funds in the bank. "The @SVB_Financial closure is certainly disrupting startups across the world. Startups are an important part of #NewIndia Economy," Chandrasekhar said in a tweet. The minister said he will meet with the Indian startups next week "to understand the impact on them and how the Narendra Modi government can help them "during this crisis." According to recent data by global software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based market intelligence platform Tracxn, SVB had exposure in at least 21 startups in India although it did not reveal the size of the investment in these startups. Top venture capitalist (VC) firms have also issued a joint statement on the collapse of SVB, one of the largest US banks serving the global startup community, saying they are "deeply disappointing and concerning". According to reports, SVB was a bank to more than 2,500 venture capital firms, including Lightspeed, <keyword id="6581358" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="bain-capital" source="Orion">Bain Capital</keyword> and Insight Partners. On Friday, the <keyword id="905063" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="us-federal-deposit-insurance-corporation" source="Orion">US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation</keyword> (FDIC) took control of the SVB's $175 billion in customer deposits. US-based technology startup accelerator Y Combinator, which has invested in thousands of startups, including at least 200 from India, has written a petition to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others, asking them to prevent further shockwaves that could lead to financial crisis and layoffs of more than 100,000 workers. Over 1,200 CEOs and founders representing over 56,000 employees have already signed the petition, written by Garry Tan, CEO and President of Y Combinator, to save startups and hundreds of thousands of jobs. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/us-bank-svb-taken-over-is-largest-failure-since-2008/articleshow/98560513.cms">US bank SVB taken over is largest failure since 2008</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/meta-to-begin-laying-off-another-11k-employees-in-multiple-waves-next-week/articleshow/98558203.cms">Meta to begin laying off another 11K employees in multiple waves next week</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/not-just-game-of-thrones-144-hbo-originals-are-exiting-disney-hotstar/slidelist/98541137.cms">HBO Originals White Lotus, Big Little Lies &amp; more that’ll vanish from Disney+ Hotstar</a>

SVB collapse: Minister Chandrasekhar to meet Indian startups to see how govt can help them

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Some techies are leaving cushy Silicon Valley jobs to launch startups at home in India

Shubhangi Goel,Charissa Cheong

The Goldman prodigy behind Silicon Valley's glorious city of the future

Hugh Langley,Adam Rogers

I skip Napa Valley and head to Paso Robles instead. It's California's best-kept secret for wine lovers.

Anneta Konstantinides

SVB collapse: Minister Chandrasekhar to meet Indian startups to see how govt can help them

IANS

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